B&Q plants sustainability flagship in the ground
B&Q revealed its sustainability flagship store in Cheltenham this week, which incorporates the retailer’s latest environmental initiatives and showcases its planet-friendly products and practices that it will look to roll-out across its estate.
The aim of the store is to help make it easier for customers to choose more sustainable products for their homes and gardens. In-store messaging throughout the outlet points customers to products that could help reduce their environmental impact.
Subscribe to TRBThe Retail Bulletin attended a preview event touring the store that has new elements introduced across multiple departments. Close by the entrance an installation represents the home and the various elements within it that can become more sustainable with the right products and approach.
Sam Dyer, head of sustainability at B&Q, says: “We want to show people how to create more sustainable homes. Fifteen per cent of carbon emissions come from the home…we’ve built a house [structure] to explain our various services.”
Zoning the house
The installation is split into different sections that help customers navigate the complex elements involved with sustainability around their homes. Paul Carroll, head of services development at B&Q, says: “It’s difficult for customers to understand what to do. Here they can touch and feel [products] in order to demystify them. We’ve put them into zoned areas.”
These comprise electric, with products including electric vehicle charges, solar panels, and batteries that can be charged more cheaply at night. Dyer indicated that she recently attended a roundtable with Ed Miliband that discussed the latest plug-in solar panels that simply fit into a plug socket and can feed power straight into the electricity flow of the house. Once approved these will be added to the product mix at B&Q.
Heating is another zone that explains oils and heat pumps, and seeks to overcome many myths that have built up around these products. There are also smart heating control systems and air-conditioning units. Such has been the spike in demand during the recent hot spell that Carroll says the lead-times for these products have had to be extended.
The third zone covers insulation in the home to reduce energy consumption such as loft insulation and cavity walls as well as more energy efficient windows and doors to eliminate drafts.
Partnerships
Carroll says the products and services within these zones are either from B&Q’s own range or are offered through third-party partnerships that the retailer has undertaken due diligence on. “Customers are buying through the trust of B&Q,” he suggests.
These partners include Boxt – that supplies the likes of rooftop solar panels, batteries and heat pumps – and Octopus Energy that demystifies the energy tariffs now available on the market. “Octopus tells us that lots of people don’t understand smart tariffs and are therefore missing out on benefiting from some of the sustainable products currently available. We have the Octopus team here in the store at weekends,” says Carroll.
Another partner is Speedy Hire that handles the tool hire that fits in with the store’s sustainability ethos and encompasses project related tools across 170-200 SKUs such as drills, cement mixers and circular saws. There is also a section of the store dedicated to the sale of refurbished power tools that covers around 200 SKUs. “It’s about second-life and they are 20% cheaper. The feedback from customers is strong,” says Dyer.
What is noticeable across the store is the liberal use of blue signage that indicates sustainable product sections and informs and advises customers on the actions they can take to save money and reduce their impact on the planet.
Creating a blueprint
For example, Sophie Taylor, director of marketing at B&Q, points to the blue gondola ends and aisle signage supporting the promotion of nature at home: “The blue colouring is creating a blueprint for nature at home with wildflower plants and seeds as well as propagation equipment.”
B&Q has for 30 years sought to source sustainable wood and the Cheltenham store highlights this heritage of buying certified woods from sustainable forests that also uphold workers’ rights with a large, attractive display. This long-standing commitment has contributed to as many as 67% of the products sold by B&Q now being sustainable.
The company has also been on a journey to reduce the emissions from its stores – as part of a plan to become carbon zero by 2040 – and the Cheltenham store was selected for becoming the sustainable flagship because it is already one of the retailer’s most sustainable outlets. It is powered by over 200 roof-top solar panels and is lit by smart LED lighting with movement sensors that dim when no people are around.
The paint section is another area of focus where the own-brand paints are being moved over to having lower amounts of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) that release harmful odours into the atmosphere. Hence, water-based paints coming more to the fore. B&Q has also launched a seven-store trial whereby it takes unwanted spare back paint, which it then disposes of environmentally and the tins are recycled. “The end-goal is to recycle the paint but we need the volumes to make this work. We are taking learnings from the trial,” says Dyer.
Along the front of the store sits a large digital screen highlighting key sustainability messaging and projects that can be undertaken. Close by is the ‘Trade Point’ area dedicated for trade people who have been more demanding of sustainable products and there is a desire to better help this grouping make the right choices.
The ‘Recycling Station’ represents an extended section where customers can bring in a range of end-of-life goods and packaging for recycling. The sections comprise: small electrics, batteries, fluorescent tubes, light bulbs, plastic plant pots, garden equipment, soft plastics and decorating waste.
Planting the seed of sustainability
B&Q is also well known for its garden section and this department at Cheltenham has also embraced sustainable initiatives and messaging. Most notable is the sustainable garden installation that offers advice on how best to improve drainage, soil quality of flower beds, and how to encourage nature.
It also shows how to maximise solar power in your garden, encourage wildlife through pollinator plants and features such as ponds, bird homes and growing your own edibles, to advice on composting and water saving. The display is designed to help customers create beautiful outdoor spaces that allow them to connect with nature, support wildlife, and garden more sustainably.
The installation bears similarities to the show gardens at Chelsea Flower Show as well as interior room mock-ups seen in furniture retailers and Dyer says she is keen to see more such initiatives at B&Q. “We’ll be looking to track if we’ve sold more of the products in the [installation] garden.”
As the biggest seller of plants in the UK, and one of the largest in Europe, Mark Sage, buying manager of horticulture at B&Q, says the company has been working hard on its sustainability credentials. As many as 94% of its plant sales are derived from its in-house Verve brand that adheres to B&Q’s sustainability requirements. These include testing the performance of its plants to ensure they deliver on various factors. He admits this is proving a challenge when the UK has had heavy rainfall in May followed by record temperatures in June.
The colour of the plant pots has also changed in order to remove black as they are not recyclable. Sage also points to a 50-store trial involving the recycling of plant pots: “We encourage customers to re-use them or we recover them into the system, and the labels too.”
The blue signage also runs through the garden department offering practical advice and recommendations such as using less chemicals, consider plants that need less water, and how to improve soil management.
Taylor says the task now at the Cheltenham store is to explore what customers are buying and spot the trends taking place in the store. “What elements are nudging them to change their behaviour [and purchases] will tell us the story for what we will do in future stores.”
